Aro's Daughter
by bubbalicious91
Summary: When hunting a nomadic gang of vampires in America Aro and his group of guards stumble across a tantalising scent too hard to ignore, little do they know that the infant who owns that scent will change all their lives forever.
1. Chapter 1

Aro's Daughter

**Chapter one**

**Aro POV**

"Master?"

My eyes found Heidi's easily in the faint moonlight as she emerged from the underbrush of the forest and into the clearing, where I stood with the rest of the guard. I pursed my lips when I realized that her hands were empty. With her long mahogany hair, stunningly long legs and curvy figure she was the best 'fisher' my coven, the Volturi, had, her gift of illusionary desires was a mere bonus. And yet she had come back empty handed. A first.

Normally I never left Volteera, home to my brothers and I for millennia's, but this matter deserved my particular attention. So I had gathered the necessary guards; Demetri for tracking, Jane for incapacitation, Felix for his brute strength and Heidi had been brought because she was the fastest runner in the guard, not for fishing, boarded my private jet and set out for America where, with Demetri's gift, we had tracked and destroyed three unruly vampires that had been creating too much unwanted attention.

It had taken us 2 days to finally pin them down in one secure location and dismember them. Normally I would have only been on American soil for less the 24 hours but after reading the minds of James and Victoria I found the reason why it took us longer then 48 to kill them.

James was an extremely good tracker, nothing like my Demetri but still just as good. And combined with his mate, Victoria's gift of evasion, they were nearly unstoppable. And probably would have escaped again if Jane hadn't made eye contact with James and sent him screaming to the ground as imaginary flames engulfed his body. Of course Victoria tried to attack Jane in an effort to save her mate but Felix quickly intervened, whilst Heidi and Demetri went after the third, Laurent, who had tried to run.

They were finished in a matter of seconds.

We were now headed back to Seattle were the jet was ready and waiting but had stopped in the forests of Forks for a quick meal, particularly for myself since I hadn't fed recently because I hadn't been expecting to stay away for so long.

"I am sorry master," Heidi said, walking slowly toward me with her head hung in shame, reasonable since this was her first failure in over 300 years to bring me a meal but unneeded. Everyone fails and she is no exception. "I went into town but it is small and there is no night life to speak of. I even sought out the local tavern but it was closed." She snorted indignantly, I couldn't help but smile. Indeed that was a rare occurrence among humans as they usually gathered and drunk themselves silly on Friday nights such as these. "I also did a quick sweep of the hiking trails but there are no campers due to the season, it's too cold for them."

Heidi, who was now kneeling in front of me offered her hand, quickly removing one of the black leather gloves that protected me against my own gift, I touched her palm and quickly skimmed through her thoughts to the last half an hour.

Indeed she was right there were no humans wondering the streets tonight, drunk or otherwise, and the only sounds to be heard from the sleepy little town were the slow heart beats as they slept, televisions, music, babies crying and the unmistakable sounds late night bedroom escapades. Absolutely nothing of consequence and nothing to ease the burn that was rapidly engulfing my throat.

I sighed dejectedly as her thoughts still raced through my head. I felt my head cock to one side as Heidi picked up the most delicious scent she, and I, had ever come across as she started to circle the town. Curious, as our kind usually is, she followed the scent to a small two-story house at the end of a dreary little street.

The asphalt glistened after the recent rainfall, leaves on nearby trees rustled as the nocturnal animals scattered in the wake of a predator such as Heidi. The house was completely black except the two lights that were shining brightly from the house's upstairs windows. As Heidi watched a woman with short brown hair appeared in the closed window with a small infant girl nestled in her arms as it sucked on a bottle.

Heidi crept closer trying to determine which of the humans in the house was host to the delicious scent. A man made his way down stairs and turned on the kitchen light, rustled around in the fridge for a minute before turning the light off again and retreating to the same room as the mother and child. Quickly and quietly Heidi climbed the spruce tree at the side of the house and watched from the shadows of it's branches as the mother placed the sleepy infant in it's crib, giving the bottle to her husband and leaving the room without a word.

The father looked after the women dejectedly for a while before turning to his daughter, staring at her for a few minutes, kissing her forehead and leaving the room to rejoin his wife in the bedroom where they went to sleep in silence.

I could hear Heidi battling with herself, trying to decide whether to continue her hunt for me or see if it was the infant that homed the scent that made an intolerable amount of venom pool in her mouth. Once again curiosity won out and she quickly found herself sliding up the window where she was assaulted with a very concentrated dose of the sweet scent. She didn't enter the room as she felt her control slipping with every breath she took, so instead she quickly closed the window and ran back into the forest to sniff out campers.

Coming back to reality I swallowed the load of venom that had filled my own mouth and stared at Heidi as she rose, I was absently aware of myself pulling my glove back on and Jane chastising Heidi for coming back empty handed.

"Where was that house Heidi? The one with the infant?" She stared at me disbelievingly for a moment before gathering her senses and promptly answering.

"On the very edge of the town master. The forest backs onto the back yard; there are very few neighbors and no houses directly across the street. The man that lives there appears to be a police men as there is a cruiser out the front."

I nodded. No one would see or hear us enter the house since there were next to no neighbors and the ones who are there are fast asleep. The two adults would be enough to satiate my thirst or even just the male, the infant we could just leave for other humans to find when they came calling in the morning hours and be free to do as they wished with it.

"Let's go."

I began to run, retracing Heidi's path without waiting for answer, they would follow, as was there duty. Sure enough after a couple of second delay Jane and the others were right behind me.

"Master? Where are we going?" Jane asked as she pulled into position on my right flank, Demetri pulling into my left.

"To the house Heidi saw. My thirst is becoming unbearable and I wish to see for myself if the baby smells as good to us as she did to Heidi."

Out of my peripheral vision I saw Jane nod, no further questions were asked as we ran silently through the forest.

A few minutes later and I found myself being pulled from the cover of the forest by the glorious scent the little girl emitted. She smelled similar to how Heidi had perceived her but she had more of a tangy smell to it now.

Curious I ripped a glove off and grabbed Jane's hand. It was just as I thought, the child smelled similar to all of us but different at the same time. To Heidi she smelled like freesia, as she did to Jane, and myself but Heidi also smelled strawberries and cream making the girls' blood smell surgery sweet. To me the infant smelled more like a mixture of freesias and oranges and to Jane; it was spicier, like freesias mixed with cinnamon.

As my company and I crossed the back yard and onto the porch I informed them that the baby was to be left alone and I would have the father, leaving the mother for Heidi since she had discovered the sweet smelling child.

Demetri made quick, silent work of the back door and fell behind with the others, taking up various positions on the bottom floor as Heidi and I made our way upstairs eager for our meal.

I forced my way past the infants' door as I did not wish to harm her and slipped into the parents' room, an easy task since the door was left half open anyway.

Heidi wasted no time covering the women's mouth, her eyes popped open in response the cold temperature of Heidi's skin and the pressure being applied but was unable to make a sound or movement before Heidi had snapped her neck and drank greedily. The husband began to stir and I was at his side in an instant covering his mouth like Heidi had done with his wife. I paused as my bare hand came into contact with his skin, his thoughts should have come rushing into my head the moment we connected and yet... yet it took a couple of seconds before they started to appear in my minds eye and even then I was only get snap shots, not the usual monologue I was so often bombarded with. I felt the man struggle beneath me but made no move as I tried to force my way deeper into his mind, trying to connect his thoughts properly. It wasn't happening, I couldn't get more then I was already receiving.

"Master?"

I snapped my head to find Heidi's worried face beside me.

"Don't worry dear one, this mans mind has me curious that's all." She nodded but still looked worried. Quickly and without paying much attention I ended the mans silent struggles and drained his body of it's lifeblood in a matter of minutes before wiping my mouth on the back of my hand and making my way to the child's room.

Her scent was so much more potent in here and my throat ached a little in response as I moved closer to the purple and white crib in the centre of the room.

I must admit she was one of the most beautiful human infants I had ever seen. She had a rather thick tuft of chocolate brown hair that curled slightly on the ends. Her face was slightly flushed and chubby with her red lips in a perfect pout as she slept, moving every so often as she dreamed.

I reached out to her with my ungloved hand, hesitating a second before making contact with her cheek, having her wake by the temperature of my skin was the last thing I needed to deal with. But she didn't flinch or stir when I rest my palm over the side of her face, instead she snuggled closer seeking the cool and comfort of my hand. I heard Heidi gasp behind me as she saw the motion and heard Jane's light footsteps as she came to investigate, forcing herself past Heidi she came and stood beside me looking down at the little girl with distaste.

To my surprise I growled defensively at her. She jumped to the other side of the room in response, her eyes wide with confusion.

How dare she look upon this beautiful child with such malice? It was in Jane's personality to be cruel and spiteful but this was an infant who couldn't hurt or insult a fly let alone a vampire, especially one such as Jane.

It was then I realized that I wasn't getting anything off of the child. Nothing. Her mind was silent although I should have been getting vague images and colors from someone her age.

"She's silent to me." I whispered into the silent house as I carefully tucked the fleece blanket tightly around her body before picking her up and cradling her against my chest. Her tiny hands reached out and clutched the fabric of my black cloak; her head nuzzled into the side of my neck and let out a deep sigh as she drifted further into her dreams.

"That cannot be." I looked up to see all my guards peering into the room from the doorway, eyes intent on the child. Demetri stumbled his way forward, coming to a halt beside me as he looked upon the girl with utter fascination, his fingers twitching with a need to touch her. "Master, I cannot track her."

I raised an eyebrow at him; I considered having Jane try her gift on the infant in my arms but the idea of this girl in pain made my dead stomach twist and knot in the most peculiar ways. The very idea of someone hurting her made me want to be sick and kill whoever it was that meant her harm at the same time.

It was obvious the infant was gifted, very rare considering that gifts usually manifested in there teens or not until after the change. Yet here was this beautiful unsuspecting child, only months old and held the potential to become one of the most powerful vampires known.

I looked around the room absently trying to think of a solution for the child other then killing her, a waste, or abandoning her, probably an even bigger waste, because she was too precious to be left behind for the humans to do with as they please.

The room was small and decorated with white furnishings and a purple and pale yellow color scheme. Toys were strewn everywhere and so were a number of baby hygiene products on the change table. Something shiny caught my eye above the crib. What I found was the infants name nailed to the wall with purple and yellow letters made of wood, silver glitter decorating the edges.

Isabella.

The perfect name for a beautiful child such as this.

A perfect Italian name for a beautiful girl.

"Master we should leave now." Jane said warily, ushering the others out the door and down the stairs.

"Call Katrina and tell her to get a room ready and all the essentials needed to take care of a human baby. Heidi find a bag and take some of her possessions with us."

I felt, more then saw, everyone freeze. Felt there eyes boring into the side of my head, all of them filled with disbelief and wonder. Though in Jane's case it would have been more of disgust than wonder. But all I saw was she.

Isabella.

My daughter.


	2. Chapter 2:Introductions

**Author Note:**

**Hello everyone one. I know this is a quick update and I'm glad I got it finished today but unfortunately I don't know if quick updates will always be happening thanks to my hectic schedule. I have not written the next chapter but I have a very set idea for it so I will start working on it sometime tomorrow after I do my homework lol. It's 11:40pm here in AUS so I'm off to bed with the hopes of waking up to some fabulous reviews. **

**Chapter two: Introductions**

**Aro POV**

Over the past three years since I found Isabella and brought her back to Italy, everything had changed. Well, the personal aspect of my existence and relationships had changed; business was the same as it had been ever since the defeat of the Romanians.

When I brought Isabella home and introduced her to my brothers, Caius had put up a fight, growling and baring his teeth the second he saw her, stating that she was of no use to us and would simply be a burden, 'a waste of space' as he had said. I had retaliated, stating that the sheer power she possessed even at such a young age, that she would not be a burden and whether or not he and his wife had any interaction with her did not matter, she would be staying and that was that.

My other brother, Marcus, had stayed silent throughout the ten-minute debate without removing his eyes from Isabella's face, stepped forward, informing Caius that the bond was too strong to be broken by anything he said and that, for all intents and purposes, she was my daughter. And he her uncle.

Without another word he plucked Isabella from my arms and held her up. Brown eyes met red and I immediately saw the love and devotion he had for her, out there on display for all to see. The kiss he placed on her forehead when he cuddled her close, being extra attentive of how much pressure he used, were not only for show as most of the guard had assembled to see what they were calling 'Aro's daughter'.

And she was. From that day on I had hardly left her side, feeding, caring, teaching and playing with her, giving her the attention she deserved, with her Uncle Marcus at my side. Caius hadn't said a word to her since the day she arrived and neither had his wife, or mine. Though Isabella knew who they were and often called out to Caius by name, he ignored her. I hadn't left Volteera's walls in three years as I refused to leave her side on the one occasion Caius insisted I leave. In the end he went in my place, leaving the city for the first time in 30 years.

As vampires none of us had any idea how to take care of an infant so it was a blessing when our human receptionist, Katrina, had a newborn niece of her own and was glad to teach us all we needed to know. I saw in her mind though that she thought this favor would help sway the minds of my brothers and I into changing her, it wouldn't. She had no potential gift other then the fact that she had no sense of self-preservation and lusted after most of the coven. She would be disposed of and replaced in a number of years as she was reaching the limited time frame given to those humans that worked for us.

For years now I had wanted to introduce Isabella to my old friend, my other brother in a number ways, Carlisle, but hadn't wished to take her from her home at the risk of disturbing her too much, though Katrina said she would be fine even with the drastic change in temperature. But today...today my wish was to come true. After I issued an invitation 6 months ago Carlisle and his mate, Esme, where coming to Volteera. I hadn't informed Carlisle of the reason why I had summoned him so suddenly and for the first time in decades but I had no doubt that he new of my daughters' existence. He always knew everything.

As it was at this moment Isabella was sleeping safely in her room with Demetri, another person who had been by her side from the very beginning, watching over her. Whilst I awaited Carlisle's arrival eagerly in the throne room with Marcus and Caius.

My relationship with Caius had grown strained and tense over the years, as had my relationship with his wife, Athenodora, my wife Sulpicia and Jane. All had a great disapproval of Isabella and detested the very sight of her. Of course when Isabella had started talking and pointed to Caius's stoic figure, wanting to know his name, I had told her and she tried her best to repeat it coming out with a muffled version that sounded like 'Kah-us'. He didn't even register the sound of her little voice and she had been trying ever since to get his attention. Her first steps were taken in Caius's direction with her arms held out wide and pleading, he walked away taking Jane with him.

Marcus and I were currently in the middle of an almost daily discussion about what age Isabella would be turned, something we were always at odds with. With her growing so amazingly fast both physically, mentally and emotionally I wanted her to hold onto her humanity for as long as possible and wished her to be turned in twenty years. Leaving her to be 23 forever.

Marcus wished her to be turned at 18. His argument was that because she was so emotionally and mentally advanced that it would be the perfect age for her as she would be physically in her prime at 18 but her mentality and personality would be that of someone much older which would grow and flourish as time passed.

My mind always lingered on the regret Carlisle held, thinking that he had changed Edward, his oldest son, too young. Edward had been dying and was just shy of his eighteenth birthday, leaving him eternally 17 years old. Carlisle always felt that 17 was too young for him to be changed since he hadn't fully matured physically and mentally, leaving him in his adolescent state, selfish, possessive and unable to truly love.

But if Edward was too young to be changed what of Jane and Alec? They had been changed at the age of 14, in the very early stages of their adolescents, not nearing the end of it like Edward. I suppose Jane was incapable of loving anyone but herself, her brother and her masters and Alec was her twin in every sense of the word. And neither had had any romantic endeavors or relationships and I wished for my Isabella to have all that. I wanted her to have a mate and someone to make her happy, to keep an eye on her and someone who would be willing to sacrifice himself for her.

Demetri immediately came to mind but I dismissed it, I wouldn't force a suitor on Isabella that was her choice and hers alone. I wasn't about to force the age old tradition of picking a husband for her, as by that time she would be a young women capable of her own thoughts and feelings and I would let those guide her.

I hadn't brought up the topic of Carlisle's regret with Marcus for a long time now because the first mention of it hadn't turned out all to well and I hadn't wished to be distanced from another brother. Especially one who hadn't been so active in years.

"We will discuss this later, brother. We both know her change won't occur for years to come and Carlisle is on his way, I hardly want to be in a bad mood when our old friend comes to visit." Marcus scowled at me, already in an agitated mood.

I nodded in agreement, tired of the discussion myself. Just as I was about to inquire as to Carlisle and Esme's whereabouts the doors to the throne room opened and Alec came through with my guests in tow.

I smiled instantly as my eyes met Carlisle's still butterscotch ones. Of course he looked the same as I had seen him 50 odd years ago, but being vampires that was to be expected. He still had a strange, beautiful shade of blonde hair, pale skin with a slight but muscular build and ever so graceful movements as he walked, revealing his sharp, white teeth as he smiled at me.

"Aro, Marcus, Caius. How good it is to see you all again, it has been too long and I have missed this city."

I quickly stood and shook my old friends hand with a gloved hand, I would retrieve his memories later. He looked down at our hands quizzically then looked back at me.

"Later old friend, later." Was all I said before releasing his hands and turning to his beautiful mate, Carlisle stepped behind me to greet my brothers as well as Athenodora and Sulpicia, who had made a rare appearance. They might not have liked Carlisle while he had stayed in Volteera with us for a number of years but they certainly did respect him. After all, he could accomplish that which none of us could.

"Hello, dearest Esme. We meet at last." I cried picking up her hand and kissing her knuckles lightly, she let out a nervous giggle.

"Hello, Aro. The pleasure is all mine." I grinned at her and pulled her behind me to meet my brothers where they stood still conversing with Carlisle quietly.

"Brothers may I remind you we have a lady present." Both my brothers turned and looked at Esme. Caius nodded in her direction whilst Marcus smiled and gave a slight bow.

"Why Carlisle I was never informed that your wife was so beautiful. Why haven't we met her before now?" Marcus teased. Respectfully Carlisle was a little taken aback by my brother's behavior before he burst out laughing and pulled Esme to his side proudly.

"It's been a hectic couple of years Marcus but I will be sure to make it up this trip."

We all laughed and enjoyed a few more minutes of idle chitchat before Felix came in and informed me that Isabella had awoken, Athenodora and Sulpicia quickly exited the room at the mention of Isabella's name. Carlisle, of course being ever so noticeable, caught my wife and her sister's movements and looked at me curiously. I laughed but didn't give him an answer, he would see it for himself soon enough.

"Come now Carlisle, plenty of time for talking later but right now I want you to meet someone special. In fact, she's the reason you're here."

I led Carlisle, Esme and Marcus out of the throne room and into the west wing were Isabella's rooms where. My dead heart leapt when her tiny heartbeat came within earshot and I felt my pace pick up unconsciously. Carlisle and Esme obviously heard the sound of her heart beat too as I heard Esme gasp and Carlisle call my name inquiringly, I didn't answer intent on being by my Isabella's side as soon as possible.

"Don't worry Carlisle, when Aro gets this close to her, he loses all his senses." Marcus joked, a broad smile on his face.

"Oh! And I suppose you don't dear brother of mine?" He did not dignify me with an answer; we both knew he was as eager to see her as I was.

As we entered the hallway that leads to Isabella's room I forced myself to slow my pace in order to walk beside Esme, meeting Carlisle's eyes over the top of her head.

"I'm sure you have heard rumors of myself bringing a human child back to Italy with me from America a few years ago. She is often refereed to as my 'daughter'." He nodded. He had heard and the subject clearly gained his immense interest as his eyes sparkled with excitement, a look I had seen all to well in the years he had lived here with us; the thirst for knowledge.

"I had heard that you brought back an infant from America three years ago and that even though she was only months old she was showing an exceptional amount of power, though I know no other details. I hadn't heard anything in a while so I assumed 'Aro's daughter' was just a rumor that had died out."

I smiled at Carlisle's answer, taking a quick look at his wife as we paused outside the double doors. Esme's eyes were intent on the wood oak of the door, clearly hearing Isabella's thrumming heart on the other side. I looked back at Carlisle and smiled widely.

"They are not rumors, Carlisle." His eyes widened as I opened the door to reveal Isabella sitting on Demetri's lap, wrapping her fingers in his long hair as he whispered to her in Italian. Though she couldn't understand too much of what he was saying she giggled every time he said 'amore'. She defiantly knew what that meant and she liked hearing it, a lot.

"Carlisle, Esme, meet Isabella. My daughter."

They stood in the doorway for a minute frozen, Isabella still hadn't noticed us all here watching her, all her focus was on Demetri, and although he knew of our presence he didn't wish to be away from her just yet and ignored us. Just as impatient as I was, Marcus squeezed past us and walked into the room. Demetri gave Isabella one last kiss on the cheek before setting her on her feet facing Marcus.

Her little, chocolate eyes lit up when they landed on him and she began running to him, yelling his name in the process. He knelt down and caught her, tossing her in the air and catching her again before she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Hello, Uncle Marcus." He smiled in response and turned to face the rest of us but didn't look at us.

"Hello mi Bella. Did you have a good nap?" She nodded, smiling all over again.

From the corner of my eye I saw Carlisle take his eyes off of Isabella and looked at Esme, pulling her tightly to his chest and massaging her back. I looked at him frowning over her head, curious as to his wife's frazzled condition. Esme's shoulders shook with silent sobs with one her hands covering her mouth and the other clutching Carlisle's arm so tightly that her nails were probably digging into his skin.

"Before Esme was changed she lost a child. It was a boy but still..." He trailed off breaking eye contact with me to look back at Isabella.

I nodded, whispering my apologies and walked into the room since there was nothing I could do to comfort Esme and reached for Isabella.

"Papa!" She cried struggling to get away from Marcus and into my arms. I cuddled her close and buried my face in her long chestnut locks that had been left down after her nap instead of tied up in bows like they usually were. She still smelt as sweet as ever but no longer any thirst for the others and I who loved her.

Carlisle was still comforting Esme by the doorway, and Esme had yet to take her eyes off of Isabella. Isabella pulled her self up a little as she noticed the strangers standing near, she mustn't have liked seeing Esme so upset as tears started to gather in her eyes and she struggled ruthlessly and crying 'Papa' until I put her down. From there she ran across the room, stumbling every few steps with tiny tears streaming down her face, and grabbed a hold of Esme's skirt.

Esme seemed to melt the second Isabella made contact with her and slowly sunk to her knees so that she was eye level with Isabella. She reached out to her with a shaky hand but pulled back and looked at me.

"It's alright," I smiled, knowing exactly what she was worried about. "She won't pull away. She's never pulled away from the temperature of our skin, even from the start."

Esme nodded and slowly reached for Isabella again, her hands still a little shaky with emotion. It was all too slow for my daughter as she was an impatient little girl and quickly launched herself into Esme's arms, wrapping her arms around Esme's neck and began to breathe in the smell of Esme's hair.

Esme closed her eyes and smiled contently at the contact, wrapping her arms around Isabella lightly with one hand rubbing her back. Carlisle crouched down next to them and smoothed Isabella's hair out of her tear streaked face, tucking it behind one of her ears, Isabella squirmed and giggled at the contact.

"Hello Isabella, I'm Carlisle."

"Hello Carl...Carlil..." She frowned in frustration she always likes to get things right and right the first time.

"How about uncle Carlie, mi Bella." Marcus suggested as he walked back over to us with an outfit in his hands for her, Demetri following behind him with a pair of shoes.

Isabella beamed pulling away from Esme and hugged Carlisle. "Hello Uncle Carlie. I'm Bella."

"Bella? That's a lovely name, do you know it means?" She grinned and nodded.

"Beautiful." She answered tossing her long chestnut hair over her shoulder and jutting her chin further into air as she had seen Heidi do often. We all laughed at her little antics.

"She's like a miniature version of Rosalie but with brown hair. Alice would love her." Esme said to Carlisle whilst Marcus turned Isabella around and pulled off her nightgown.

"You mean Alice would love to dress her up." Carlisle corrected playfully.

Hearing Esme speak must have reminded Isabella that she was there as she turned around quickly and stared at her. "Auntie...?" She asked trailing off at the end.

Esme's eyes glistened with unshed tears once again as she answered. "Esme, dear. Auntie Esme."

Isabella repeated it perfectly before turning around to finish getting dress in her blue and white polka dotted dress and Demetri slipped a pair of miniature black Mary Jane's and picked her up again. He always had to touch her, make sure she as safe and happy like an older brother but I had read his thoughts and there was more then one passing thought where he wondered if, when she was older, he would mean more to her. Those thoughts were always filled with a small amount of hope but like me he wasn't going to press the situation on her.

"She's beautiful Aro, but I do have a few questions of course." Carlisle said bashfully as he admired Isabella as she spoke with Marcus and Demetri, even at such a young age you could hear the Italian accent she was picking up coming through and a few words slipped out in Italian before she back tracked and said it all again in English.

Marcus and I had considered teaching her Italian from the very start but decided to teach it to her later as it would be easy enough for her to pick up and she had already heard only English from her parents for the first 8 months of her life. She had been picking up on the Italian already since almost the whole coven spoke it more then 60 percent of the time.

"I understand Carlisle. You can ask anything you like; I'll try my best to answer in a way that will help you to make sense of the strange arrangement. We can discuss this now or later but…" I grinned ruefully at him. "There's no separating Marcus and I from her now that she's awake, so feel free to ask whatever you wish as it comes to you. Esme you talk and touch her as much as you want, she doesn't mind the fact that we're vampires." I said kindly as I noticed how she had been staring at Isabella yet again. She seemed slightly shocked that Isabella knew what we were but there wasn't really anything else we could say, she would have eventually noticed that we did not eat with her and all the other little human attributes we no longer possessed.

Carlisle nodded absently as Demetri handed Isabella to him. "Soon Aro, right now I can't get my mind straight." He said, never taking his eyes off of my daughter as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"How about we go outside and play in the gardens for a while Darling?" I asked knowing what her answer would be. She loved the gardens with all the fountains, the mini hedge maze and play equipment we had installed for her. She also loved running through the rose gardens and watching the way we all sparkled in the sunlight.

My daughter didn't disappoint; she started clapping and cheering. "Please? Can we, can we?" I smiled and nodded, immediately feeling Demetri retrieve the sunscreen and a hat for her as she turned back to Carlisle and Esme. "Are you coming with us?"

"Of course Bella, we'd love to." Esme answered taking Isabella from Carlisle as his mobile phone rang. Marcus began to lead the way out to the gardens as Esme and I listened to Isabella as she informed Esme of all the fun things to do outside. I heard Carlisle answering his phone in the background.

"Hello, Alice….yes…yes, I wondered about that…no, Alice, I don't think that's a good idea…" Frowning I looked back over my shoulder at Carlisle who gave an exasperated sigh and met my eyes with a sheepish smile. "Hang on Alice." He said into the phone before pulling it away to address me. "I'm sorry to ask Aro but some of my children would like to come and meet Bella."

I raised my eyebrow at the phrase 'children', of course I had known that Carlisle had referred to his coven as family but I was unaware that he referred to them as children. I suppose that would fit with Esme's motherly nature, and I could understand the lure of having a child call you their Father as it had given me such joy when Isabella said it to me the first time.

"Carlisle, I don't think that's a good idea." Esme said turning around with a concerned expression. "They've all got their classes to attend and it's not like its school holidays, they'd be missing out on a lot of work."

I heard the phone chirp with the high soprano voice on the other line and Carlisle pulled the device back to his ear, before handing it to Esme without a word. I could now hear the voice, which I presumed belonged to Alice, loud and clear.

"Esme, please! It's not like we're going to be missing much work, all of us have already done all the subjects we're taking before. Besides it would just be me, Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie. Edward's being Edward again and doesn't want any company." I saw Esme's face fall a little at the sound of the eldest son, Edward's, condition. I could also see the resignation to Alice's demand coming through as well.

"Esme, it is fine if they come and they can stay for as long as yourself and Carlisle do. My brothers and I have no problem with it as long as their thirst is under control, I would however like to see Edward again, it's been a while since I saw him too." I said knowing Alice would hear everything through the microphone.

"Please, Esme, please?" Alice begged again. "Mum I really want to meet her." Alice whined.

That did it. Esme conceited defeat telling them to make their excuses to the school and catch the next flight in, Esme also told Alice to try and talk Edward into coming along, even if she had to use Jasper to do it.

I didn't understand all of what they said, as I didn't have all the information on the members of Carlisle's family but I did know that Edward had the ability to read minds and was the first to join Carlisle's coven, as well as being the first person Carlisle had ever turned. Esme and Rosalie were the next to be changed by Carlisle himself. Emmet followed soon after that, as I understood. Alice and Jasper were the couple that I knew the least about.

Jasper I had met briefly once before during the southern wars, having been made by Maria, a ruthless and domineering vampire that had escaped. Jasper and myself had a brief discussion were he informed me of his crimes but had no knowledge of any other way to live outside of Maria's control. Having seen his thoughts and reading just how trapped and depressed he was in her company, I let him go with a warning. Jasper had disappeared after that and I never heard another whisper of him until he and his female companion had joined Carlisle's coven.

Now Alice was quiet the puzzle. She had appeared out of nowhere and no one, other than her family, knew anything about her. All my efforts to gain information on her over the years had come down to nothing, one day she hadn't existed and the next she was roaming the world without her maker. The lack of information was rather frustrating for me since I usually knew everything, an advantage my gift gave me, and one I had depended on greatly. Over the years since I had learned of Carlisle's new additions I had wondered if she too was talented but for now I was content to wait until Isabella had been put to bed later tonight. The whole world could wait while I spent time with my daughter.


End file.
